Facebook Ads for Lawyers: What Actually Works?

Most law firms that try Facebook Ads fail. Not because the platform doesn't work, but because they treat it like Google Ads -- bidding on intent that doesn't exist on a social feed. Facebook is a demand-creation channel. Nobody opens Instagram thinking "I need a personal injury lawyer." Your ad has to interrupt their scroll, establish relevance, and generate enough urgency or curiosity to trigger action. When done correctly, Facebook can deliver signed cases at a fraction of Google's cost per lead. When done wrong, it produces a pile of unqualified leads that waste your intake team's time and your budget.

We manage PPC for lawyers across dozens of firms, and we've tested enough Facebook campaigns to know exactly what works, what doesn't, and where most firms go wrong. This guide covers everything -- practice area fit, targeting, creative, compliance, and realistic cost benchmarks.

Which Practice Areas Actually Work on Facebook?

This is the first question every law firm should ask before spending a dollar on Meta Ads. Not every practice area converts on Facebook, and forcing it where it doesn't fit is the fastest way to burn budget.

Practice Areas Where Facebook Works Well

Personal injury is the biggest winner. PI cases have a long statute of limitations, which means you don't need someone who was injured five minutes ago -- you need someone who was injured weeks or months ago and hasn't taken action yet. Facebook lets you reach these people with educational content ("Were you hurt in a car accident? You may be entitled to compensation") that nudges them to call. We've seen PI firms generate leads at $25--$50 on Facebook, compared to $150--$300+ on Google.

Family law is another strong fit. Divorce, custody, and child support are emotionally driven decisions with long consideration cycles. People research for weeks before hiring an attorney. Facebook lets you stay in front of them during that window with retargeting, educational videos, and testimonials from past clients.

Criminal defense works in specific contexts -- primarily DUI and drug charges where the accused is searching for answers and reassurance. The key is speed: someone arrested Friday night is scrolling their phone Saturday morning. If your ad is there with a "Free consultation -- call 24/7" message, you can capture that lead before they ever open Google.

Immigration law performs well because of highly targetable communities and the educational nature of the services. DACA renewals, visa applications, and citizenship pathways lend themselves to content-driven Facebook campaigns that build trust over time.

Practice Areas Where Facebook Struggles

Corporate law, real estate transactions, and commercial litigation are poor fits. These decisions are made by businesses or sophisticated buyers who aren't influenced by social media ads. The targeting options don't exist to reach corporate general counsel on Facebook in any meaningful way.

Workers' compensation is borderline. It can work with very specific targeting (job titles in high-injury industries), but the lead quality tends to be low because many claimants already have representation through their employer's process.

The rule of thumb: if the potential client is an individual making a personal, emotional decision, Facebook can work. If it's a business or institutional decision, stick to Google and LinkedIn.

Audience Targeting Strategies That Actually Convert

Facebook's targeting is what makes it viable for law firms. You're not bidding on keywords -- you're selecting who sees your ads. Get this wrong and you'll generate volume with zero case quality. Get it right and you'll reach people Google can't touch.

Geographic Targeting

Start with a 15--25 mile radius around your office. For metro areas, tighten to 10--15 miles. For rural markets, expand to 30--40 miles. PI firms can go wider because clients will travel for a strong attorney. Family law should stay tighter -- clients want someone local for ongoing court appearances.

Use "People living in this location" -- not "People recently in this location." The default includes travelers, which burns budget on people outside your jurisdiction.

Demographic and Behavioral Layers

Layer demographics on top of geography to improve quality:

• Age: 25--55 for PI (drivers most likely in accidents). 30--50 for family law. 21--45 for criminal defense.
• Income: Target middle to upper-middle income for family law (they can afford an attorney). For PI, income matters less since you're working on contingency.
• Life events: Facebook lets you target people going through major life changes. "Recently moved," "newly engaged," and similar life events can be useful for estate planning and family law.
• Homeowners: Homeowners tend to have more assets at stake in family law and PI cases, making them higher-value leads.

Lookalike Audiences

This is where Facebook's targeting becomes genuinely powerful. Upload a list of your past signed clients -- even 100--200 records is enough -- and create a 1% lookalike audience. Facebook's algorithm finds people who share demographic and behavioral patterns with your actual clients. In our campaigns, lookalike audiences consistently deliver 30--40% lower cost per lead than interest-based targeting, with significantly better lead quality.

For PI firms, build separate lookalikes from your best case types. A lookalike based on your auto accident clients will perform differently than one based on slip-and-fall cases. Segment your source lists for better results.

Retargeting: The Highest-ROI Layer

Install the Meta Pixel on your website. Build custom audiences of people who visited your site but didn't contact you, people who watched 50%+ of your video ads, and people who engaged with your Facebook page. Then serve them follow-up ads with testimonials, case results, and direct CTAs.

Retargeting audiences convert at 3--5x the rate of cold audiences. If you're only running cold prospecting campaigns without a retargeting layer, you're leaving your cheapest, highest-quality leads on the table. Every law firm running Facebook Ads should allocate 20--30% of their budget to retargeting.

Struggling to generate real cases from social media ads? We specialize in PPC for lawyers -- including Meta Ads campaigns that actually generate signed cases. Get a free strategy session ->

Lead Form Ads vs. Landing Pages: Which Converts Better?

This is one of the most debated tactical decisions in law firm Facebook advertising, and the answer depends entirely on your intake process.

Meta Lead Form Ads (Instant Forms)

Lead forms keep the user on Facebook. They tap your ad, a pre-filled form pops up with their name, email, and phone number auto-populated, and they submit in two taps.

Pros: 2--3x more lead volume than landing pages. Lower CPL ($20--$40 for PI, $15--$30 for family law). Zero friction on mobile.

Cons: Lower intent. People submit without thinking. No-show and no-answer rates are high (40--50% without immediate follow-up). You'll generate more leads, but a smaller percentage will be viable cases.

The critical requirement: You must contact lead form submissions within 5 minutes. Not 30 minutes. Not "when the intake coordinator is free." Five minutes. A lead contacted within 5 minutes is 21x more likely to convert than one contacted after 30 minutes. If your firm can't commit to that speed, don't use lead forms.

Add qualifying questions to your forms to filter out noise. Include questions like "Were you injured in the last 2 years?" or "Have you already hired an attorney?" This reduces volume but dramatically improves lead quality.

Landing Page Ads

Send traffic to a dedicated landing page built specifically for the campaign -- not your homepage, not your practice area page, a purpose-built conversion page.

Pros: Higher intent leads. Lower no-show rates (20--30%). Better case quality because the prospect had to leave Facebook, read your page, and deliberately submit their information. Stronger attribution data.

Cons: Higher CPL ($40--$80 for PI, $30--$50 for family law). Requires a fast, mobile-optimized page. More moving parts to manage.

Best for: Higher-value practice areas (PI, medical malpractice), firms with slower intake processes, and campaigns where lead quality matters more than volume.

Our recommendation: test both. Start with lead forms to validate your offer and audience targeting. Once you have data, run a parallel landing page campaign and compare cost per signed case -- not cost per lead. The channel with the lower cost per actual client wins, regardless of CPL.

Ad Creative That Works: Video, Image, and Copy

Facebook is a visual platform. Your creative determines whether someone stops scrolling or keeps moving. Here's what we've seen work for law firms specifically.

Video Ads Outperform Static Images

Short-form video -- 15 to 45 seconds -- consistently delivers the best results in our legal campaigns. The top formats:

• Attorney-to-camera: The lead attorney speaking directly about a case type or client rights. "Were you rear-ended in an accident that wasn't your fault? Here's what most people don't know..." This builds trust, humanizes the firm, and positions the attorney as an authority. Keep it conversational, not scripted.
• Client testimonial clips: A past client (with consent) describing their experience. Authentic, iPhone-quality video outperforms polished studio productions. People trust real over perfect.
• Educational content: "3 things to do immediately after a car accident" or "What to expect in a divorce consultation." These don't sell directly -- they build credibility and retargeting audiences. People who watch 50%+ are your warmest prospects.

Static Image Ads

When using static images:

• Show the attorney or team -- never stock photos of gavels and scales. People hire people, not law firm logos.
• Place the key message on the image itself. Most users won't read the caption unless the image stops their scroll first.
• Use contrasting colors and clean typography. Avoid cluttered designs.
• Carousel ads work well for showing multiple practice areas or a step-by-step "what to expect" sequence.

Ad Copy Structure

Follow this framework for your primary text:

1. Hook: Call out your audience. "Injured in a car accident in [City]?" or "Going through a divorce and don't know where to start?"
2. Value prop: State what you offer. "Free consultation. No fees unless we win."
3. Social proof: Reference results. "Over $50M recovered for injury victims" or "500+ families helped through difficult divorces."
4. CTA: Be direct. "Call now for a free case review" or "Tap below to see if you qualify."

Keep the above-the-fold text under 125 characters. Front-load the hook. The headline should reinforce the offer, and the CTA button should be "Learn More" or "Get Quote."

Compliance and Ethical Considerations

Law firm advertising is regulated. Facebook doesn't exempt you from your state bar's advertising rules, and violations can result in disciplinary action.

Key Compliance Rules

• No guarantees of outcomes. You cannot say "We'll win your case" or "Guaranteed settlement." Use language like "past results" and include appropriate disclaimers.
• Attorney advertising disclosures. Many states require ads to include "Attorney Advertising" or similar language. Check your state bar's specific requirements.
• Client testimonials require careful handling. Some states prohibit or restrict client testimonials in attorney advertising. Even where permitted, you generally need written consent and cannot imply that results are typical.
• Specialization claims. Don't call yourself a "specialist" or "expert" unless your state bar certifies specializations and you hold one.
• Confidentiality. Never reference specific client matters without explicit written consent, even in anonymized form.

Meta-Specific Compliance

Meta's advertising policies add another layer. Legal ads fall under Meta's "Social Issues, Elections, or Politics" or "Housing, Employment, and Credit" special ad categories in some cases. Check whether your ad content triggers special category restrictions, as these limit your targeting options (no age, gender, or zip code targeting in special categories).

Review your ads with your firm's compliance counsel before launch. The cost of a bar complaint far exceeds the cost of a legal review.

Realistic CPL Benchmarks: Facebook vs. Google

Here's what law firms should realistically expect to pay per lead on each platform, based on our 2026 campaign data across multiple practice areas.

Important context: Facebook CPLs are lower, but Google leads convert to signed cases at a higher rate because intent is higher. A $150 Google lead that signs 1 in 5 times produces a $750 cost per case. A $35 Facebook lead that signs 1 in 15 times produces a $525 cost per case. The math is closer than the CPL numbers suggest, and the winner varies by practice area, market, and firm.

Recommended Budget Allocation

For firms running both channels:

• 70% Google Ads -- capture high-intent demand first
• 20% Facebook retargeting -- convert site visitors and video viewers
• 10% Facebook prospecting -- cold audience testing and brand building

Once Google is optimized and profitable, increase Facebook prospecting spend. But never sacrifice Google budget for Facebook unless you've exhausted your search demand.

Common Mistakes That Kill Law Firm Facebook Campaigns

Running ads without the Meta Pixel installed. Without the pixel, you can't retarget, you can't build lookalikes from site visitors, and you can't optimize for conversions. Install it on every page of your website before you spend anything.

Boosting posts instead of running real campaigns. The "Boost Post" button gives you almost no targeting control and optimizes for engagement, not leads. Always build campaigns in Meta Ads Manager with the "Leads" objective.

Using generic creative. Stock photos of courtrooms and legal documents don't stop the scroll. Show your attorneys. Show your results. Show real humans.

Ignoring follow-up speed. We've seen firms generate 60 leads in a month and convert 3 -- not because the leads were bad, but because nobody called them back the same day. Facebook leads are not Google leads. They weren't searching for you. If you don't follow up fast and persistently, they forget they filled out your form. This is why firms using an AI intake agent see dramatically higher conversion rates — the agent contacts every lead within seconds, 24/7, before the prospect moves on.

Not tracking through to signed cases. CPL tells you almost nothing about profitability. Track every lead through your CRM to the signed case. If Facebook leads cost $30 each but only 1 in 20 signs, your real cost per case is $600. If Google leads cost $200 but 1 in 4 signs, your real cost is $800. Know your numbers at every stage of the funnel.

The Bottom Line

Facebook Ads work for law firms when you match the right practice area with the right targeting, creative, and follow-up process. PI, family law, criminal defense, and immigration are the strongest fits. Lookalike audiences and retargeting are the highest-performing targeting strategies. Video creative beats static. Lead form ads generate volume; landing pages generate quality. And none of it matters if your intake team doesn't call leads back within five minutes.

The firms that win on Facebook aren't the ones spending the most. They're the ones treating it as a genuine lead generation channel with real systems behind it -- not an afterthought bolted onto their Google Ads account.

Ready to turn Facebook into a real case generation channel for your firm? We build and manage PPC campaigns for lawyers -- including Meta Ads funnels that produce signed cases, not just form fills. We handle the targeting, creative, compliance review, and optimization so you can focus on practicing law. Get your free strategy session ->